#  Crossings Gallery - Jessica Holz 

 



##  Plankton Paintings: Footprints of the Invisible 

 At the Gallery Jan 8-Feb 19, 2026 

artist: **Jess Holz**

**Step into a world of color, motion, and wonder.** In this mesmerizing exhibition, local artist Jess Holz transforms tiny organisms from Boston’s rivers and ponds into time-lapse “paintings.” Using live water samples beneath her microscope, Holz captures bursts of movement, swirls of bright pigments, and unexpected patterns in her photography—all orchestrated by plankton. Striking visuals and imaginative science draw you into hidden worlds, blurring the boundaries between art and life, and inviting you to discover beauty and creativity where it’s least expected: among nature’s tiniest living artists.



 

 [ Gallery Guide arrow\_circle\_right ](https://edportal.harvard.edu/resource/holz-gallery-guide) 

 

       ![purple colors with yellow swirls, plankton under a microscope](/sites/g/files/omnuum12051/files/styles/hwp_21_9__1920x825/public/2025-11/jess%20holz%20image.jpg?itok=ZRdctBQp) 

 

 



 

 



 

### Meet the Artist 

 

**Jess Holz** creates artworks which give the viewer a peek into invisible worlds, as well as a chance to reflect on the influence of scientific visual culture on our collective imagination. She has just received an MFA in Art+Technology at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee; previously she  worked in several labs, gaining valuable technical experience with a number of microscopic imaging techniques. The discrepancy between what can be perceived by eye and what is imaged has fostered her fascination with perceptual systems along with the optical properties of materials. Jess actively exploits this in photography and installation. Holz is a Brighton-based multimedia artist and member of Artisans Asylum.



 [ Learn more arrow\_circle\_right ](https://jessholz.com/) 

 



      ![artist jess holz sitting for a portrait](/sites/g/files/omnuum12051/files/styles/hwp_1_1__480x480/public/2025-11/Jess%20Holz11192025_027%20copy.jpg?itok=ZN7Fi89q) 

 

 

  

 



 

 

 

##  Artist Statement 

In this installation, I explore the intimate, often overlooked lives of plankton under the microscope. Using live samples collected from the Charles River, Chandler Pond, and Boston Harbor, I create timelapse ‘paintings’ in which these organisms are active collaborators, their movements shaping the composition in real time. They drift, pulse, retract, and sometimes struggle, their gestures revealing vitality, fragility, and the subtle boundaries between life and death.

 

 [ Read More about Plankton Painting arrow\_circle\_right ](https://jessholz.com/plankton-painting/) 

 





###    Read more from the artist  expand\_more  

 

Embedded in these compositions are traces of human presence – microplastics, altered ecosystems, and in one composition, remnants of the artists own body. The organisms’ responses and movements are framed against a backdrop of ecological disruption: warming waters, nutrient pollution, harmful algal blooms, and oxygen depletion. In the Gulf of Maine and along the East Coast, scientists have documented drastic declines in phytoplankton and shifts in zooplankton phenology, altering the rhythms of predator and prey and affecting fisheries that communities rely on. The blooms and hypoxic events in local waters like the Charles River resonate here, making visible the invisible consequences of climate change.

The work asks viewers to witness both the beauty and precarity of these tiny beings. Their struggle under the microscope — swimming, twisting, whole-body contractions, and fleeting pulses — becomes a metaphor for environmental stress, loss, and resilience. By magnifying these delicate ecosystems, the piece invites reflection on what we share with the plankton: cellular machinery, sensory responsiveness, and ultimately, the vulnerability to forces larger than ourselves.



 

 

 



 

 

 

 

##  Under the Lens 

 





 

 

 



 

 

 

 [ Follow on Social Media arrow\_circle\_right ](https://www.instagram.com/jessho1z/) 

 

 

 

 

in partnership with

 ![Artisans asylum logo](/sites/g/files/omnuum12051/files/2025-12/Artisans%20Asylum%20Logo%20%287%29%20%281%29.png)

 



 

##  About Crossings Gallery 

The Crossings Gallery showcases work by contemporary Allston-Brighton, Harvard, and Boston artists, complemented by artist talks, panel discussions, and interactive workshops. Open during Harvard Ed Portal hours, the gallery also features street-facing exhibitions for public viewing anytime.  
  
Previous Fall 2025 Exhibitions:

[*Reaching through Fog: Opaque Paintings* by Yi Cynthia Chen](https://edportal.harvard.edu/crossings-gallery-chen)  
[*Familiar Faces| Living Spaces* by Hugo Nakashima-Brown](https://edportal.harvard.edu/crossings-gallery-hugo)